Seriously? Seriously...

...or not? Who knows, but I came across David Foster Wallace's Top 10 list of favorite books. Two Thomas Harris books, one each from Tom Clancy and Stephen King -- who knows? I'm on board...

Here's the list, as found over at toptenbooks.net:

1. The Screwtape Letters -- C.S. Lewis
2. The Stand -- Stephen King
3. Red Dragon -- Thomas Harris
4. The Thin Red Line -- James Jones
5. Fear of Flying -- Erica Jong
6. The Silence of the Lambs -- Thomas Harris
7. Stranger in a Strange Land -- Robert A. Heinlein
8. Fuzz -- Ed McBain
9. Alligator -- Shelley Katz
10. The Sum of All Fears -- Tom Clancy

======================

All right, we're back on track -- 2 full days of cracker jack dissertation work (that's good, in my opinion). I've been formulating a (gasp) musicology blog entry, but it's still in its embryonic stage...more to come!

RBOC: "Not Dead Yet..."

"I'd like to go for a walk..."

That's right, folks -- I'm still around. In the last 15 days, I've vacationed in 3 different states/countries (although all were in the same time zone)...Since I'm not quite home yet -- that'll be sometime on the day after tomorrow -- I'm keeping today's edition very short, random-bits style...

• Jersey Boys is actually a fun, little show.
• Did you know that Joe Pesci was pretty instrumental -- so to speak -- in creating "The Four Seasons"? The show is essentially a history lesson wrapped around a string of hits from the 50s & 60s that you would know.
• Gay men are apparently bad at spelling and great at naming Bette Midler movies. So to cap off our 4 days at Fire Island, we went to trivia. Three of the questions involved spelling some fairly easy words -- karaoke, quintessential, etc. Can you name 7 Bette Midler movies? I couldn't, but our team captain could.
• Check out The High Line's website for more information on this awesome little park on the Lower West Side (more pics to follow).
• Sleeping pills work wonders when one must sleep in a skeevy place...
• Traffic sucks on Long Island...
• TW's zonked out on the couch after an 1 1/2 car ride -- what a wuss...

Enough bits for now -- more to come once I return home and properly screw on my brain!

You tell me...

Well, in honor of today's last class & quiz, I'm questioning you -- my loyal readers (all 3 of them). How would you do on today's multiple-choice portion of the quiz? Answers to follow...

(The mini-essay is about the stylistic evolution of the Beatles as seen in their album covers: pick 1 cover from the early, middle & late years to illustrate your point about their evolution)

1) What is unique about the final songs on Abbey Road?

a. They are all in the same key

b. They are all sung by the same singer and have similar subjects

c. They are all sung by different singers and have dissimilar subjects

d. They all merge together into a montage

2) Who perceived imaginary messages in the Beatles’ White Album?

a. Phil Spector

b. Charles Manson

c. Sharon Tate

d. George Martin

3) What song on the White Album mentions at least 3 previous Beatles’ songs?

a. “The Long and Winding Road”

b. “Julia”

c. “Glass Onion”

d. “Back in the U.S.S.R."

4) Why was John’s first version of “Revolution” deemed unfit as a single?

a. It was too fast

b. It was too slow

c. He was ‘out’ on violence

d. He was ‘in’ on violence

5) Which posthumous album was released after the Beatles broke up?

a. Revolver

b. Abbey Road

c. The Beatles, aka The White Album

d. Let It Be

6) Who was brought in to re-mix the Get Back/Let It Be tapes?

a. Phil Spector

b. Charles Manson

c. Sharon Tate

d. George Martin

7) What song did George write while using Eric Clapton’s acoustic guitar?

a. “Here Comes the Sun”

b. “Something”

c. “Layla”

d. “Wonderful Tonight”

8) The Beatles released the single “Hey Jude/Revolution” during what significant event?

a. 1965, Sandy Koufax’s perfect game

b. 1963, JFK’s assasination

c. 1969, Woodstock

d. 1968, Chicago Democratic Convetion

9) Who was Billy Preston?

a. The producer of Let It Be

b. The leader of Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band

c. A pianist George brought into the Get Back/Let It Be sessions

d. All of the above

10) Which Beatles was once a member of the Traveling Wilburys?

a. Paul

b. Ringo

c. George

d. John